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Koman

African Language Families

The Koman languages are a small, close-knit family spoken along the Ethiopia-Sudan border by about 50,000 people, comprising six recognized languages: Uduk, Kwama, Komo, Opuuo, Dana and the extinct Gule. They are conventionally classified within Nilo-Saharan, though many scholars treat Koman as independent for lack of firm evidence, and recent research suggests it may be closest to Gumuz within that phylum.

Facts
Region
The Koman languages are spoken along the Ethiopia-Sudan border. 1
Speaker Count
50,000 1
Proto-Language Status
Koman is conventionally classified as part of Nilo-Saharan, but because supporting evidence is scarce many scholars treat it as an independent family; Proto-Koman itself has been reconstructed, by Lionel Bender in 1983 and again by Otero in 2019. 1
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Koman Languages (Family Article)
Wikipedia
  • lead section
    located along the Ethiopia-Sudan border
  • lead section, speaker total
    with about 50,000 speakers
  • Classification section
    Proto-Koman has been reconstructed by Lionel Bender (1983) and Otero (2019).
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